Some Details Surface Regarding Trump Plan for NAFTA Renegotiation

The Trump administration has created a list of 24 foreign trade practices it would like to address in a renegotiation of NAFTA and in any bilateral trade deal it might pursue, according to sources.The list, Key Elements of a Model Trade Agreement, was given to Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., ahead of last week's Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Robert Lighthizer to be U.S. Trade Representative.Country of origin labeling (COOL) is reportedly on the list. Roberts reportedly was not happy to see the trade renegotiation list included COOL, which sparked a meat trade dispute between the US and its NAFTA partners. "We fixed the issue of COOL in 2015," Roberts said. "We don't need to go down that road again. We narrowly escaped about $4 billion — somewhere between $2.5 billion and $4 billion — in retaliatory tariffs against the United States."Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, during his confirmation hearing in January, told the Commerce Committee that he wanted to help develop a model trade agreement containing "certain principles that would have to be in any agreement." He said it is a "huge mistake to start out each time with kind of a blank page from ground zero. Makes it take longer, makes it harder to negotiate." Ross added, "The best negotiating tool is to be able to tell someone: 'I can't change this. This is official policy. You know it is. We've got it in 10 other deals.'"